A Stay-Sober Pill?

Most people don’t head out planning to get drunk, but one thing leads to another and before they know it, one drink turns in two, three or even four, leading to embarrassing night-of situations and morning-after hangovers.

Scientists hope to help drinkers avoid that in the future by using a “stay-sober” pill that can actually stop individuals from getting drunk. 

So how does it work? The new pill limits the effects of alcohol on their brains. In one experiment, mice given the drug did not even get tipsy, despite being fed enough alcohol to make them stumble and fall over, The Daily Mail reports.

The research is promising, paving the way for this new pill, but it also may help explain why some people find themselves so affected by a single drink, while others drink several without experiencing the same level of impairment.

The study was conducted by American and Australian scientists who focused on the way alcohol affects glial cells, which make up 90 percent of the brain. They play a crucial role in the immune system, helping to fight infections such as meningitis. In the experiment, shutting off this immune response produced a remarkable effect – it stopped the mice who were given alcohol from getting drunk, the British Journal of Pharmacology reported.

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